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When we couldn't get our home to cool down last summer, we started checking our HVAC system. We found out that our air conditioning system was working fine, but the air just seemed to leave our house rapidly. We contacted an HVAC contractor to run a few tests, and he concluded that we had a severe insulation problem. After showing us which rooms had bad leaks, he recommended a business to come out and remedy the situation. This blog is all about insulating your home and helping you to keep that carefully heated and cooled air inside, where it belongs.

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If you have allergies, asthma, or other lung conditions, you should take steps to make sure that your home is a refuge from irritants. If you do nothing to maintain your ducts, all kinds of nasties can build up in your ducts and cause problems. Thus, you should have your ducts inspected and cleaned as needed in order to preserve the air quality in your home.

Conditions that Can Increase the Risk of Dirty Ducts

You might think that if you replace your air filter when required that there is no risk of your ducts getting dirty. If only this were true. Not all of the contaminants that can coat the walls of your ducts enter through the registers that direct air from your home toward your AC unit. In fact, air can fall into your ducts through the vents through which cooled air flows into your home. Mold spores, pet dander, plant pollen, insect carcasses, dead skin cells, dust mites, and other contaminants can easily pass through vents. The danger of dirty ducts is increased if you have construction going on inside or outside of your home, if you have pets, if plant pollen is plentiful in the outside air, if you have had flooding in your house, etc. Thus, you should have your ducts inspected periodically, especially if you have an environmental factor which could increase the prevalence of pollutants in the air in your home.

Why You Can't Do Your Own Duct Cleaning

In an effort to save money, you might be tempted to do your own duct cleaning. Your home vacuum will simply not have the reach or the power to clean all the way down your ducts. For the best results, you will need to hire professionals. They will have a high-powered vacuum which they will connect to your ducts near where they connect to your AC unit. Furthermore, they will have specially designed brushes, which they can use to scrub grime off of the walls of your ducts and push it toward the vacuum.

Whether you have a lung condition or not, it makes sense to clean your ducts. If you have had any flooding in your home and the flood water has had the chance to enter your duct system, you should have them cleaned by a company like Coastal Home Services to prevent the risk of mold growing in your ducts and mold spores catching a ride on the air current to grow elsewhere in your home. At the least, you should have your ducts inspected yearly and cleaned as needed.